The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise is of the opinion that the strike currently underway by various public transport operators is totally unnecessary and only serves to damage the Maltese business community and the economy in general.

The Chamber would like to remind those who are participating in the strike action that they are harming the very people on whom they depend for the survival of their business. If the Maltese business community suffers financial losses due to their strike actions, the same striking transport operators will lose out through less business being generated. This is especially true in the tourism sector but is also true for other sectors of the economy. The Chamber has over the years been a keen and consistent supporter of liberalisation for all sectors of the economy. Experience has shown us time and time again that wherever liberalisation has occurred, the end user and the economy in general has benefited significantly. Liberalisation of whatever sector means a more efficient allocation of resources which in turn brings about more efficiency and value for money.

As a point of principle the Chamber is against maintaining monopolies or the defence of any inefficient status quo. Monopolies are a thing of the past, and the sooner the country adjusts to this, the better it is prepared to ascertain its long-term future. Operators who have been working in a protected, closed environment for the past decades must realize that times have changed and that the country can no longer afford to carry inefficiencies that are then paid for by the consumer and tax payer. Furthermore, the fact that protecting the environment has become a national priority must also be recognised by operators in the certain sectors of the transport industry such as public transport.

Concluding, the Chamber is calling on all parties concerned to realise that at this stage, there is an urgent need for level headedness and maturity to prevail. The international environment is already very difficult. The country can ill-afford to waste time and resources on sectors of the economy that continue to refuse to acknowledge the fact that free and open competition is the only way forward. No other choice exists.